At Penn State, 2 Former Tar Heels Grow Into Their Roles
As part of his extensive tour of the transfer portal, Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades brought a pair of North Carolina transfers to State College. One is a Pennsylvania native, the other a player whom Rhoades recruited in high school. As Penn State resumes its Big Ten slate against Michigan State on Thursday, forward Puff Johnson and guard D’Marco Dunn have begun to grow into their own important roles as Nittany Lions.
One of Penn State’s captains, Johnson started the year with an injury and really struggled on the court in early action. But he's working into a productive role, scoring in double figures in two of his last three games. And while his shooting percentages are still catching up (34.7 percent from the floor, 23.7 percent from 3-point range), Johnson is at his healthiest and is one of Penn State’s better leaders and defenders. Rhoades mentioned this week that Johnson often gets extra shots up and watches film next to his head coach.
“I think he's just more comfortable in his roles," Rhoades said at his weekly media availability. "I also think I think he's starting to see and feel where his shots and his drives are coming from. I want him to be an aggressive player and a physical player, but on the offensive end sort of slow down and just see where things are, for his game and for his shots, where they're coming from. He's a student of the game, so he's really trying to do things the right way. And I think you're seeing that in his results.”
Dunn, meanwhile, has taken a bit of a backseat to Penn State’s backcourt leaders in Ace Baldwin Jr. and Kanye Clary. Still, Dunn has become a consistent scoring option and sixth or seventh man for the Lions. After scoring 12 points against Rider, Dunn has now hit double digits in four straight outings, with his usage continuing to increase.
Dunn, whom Rhoades recruited out of high school, can score off the dribble and is shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc this season. The next step, Rhoades said, is learning more about the system and growing from his limited role at North Carolina. He spent extra time with associate head coach Jamal Brunt after practice Tuesday to do just that.
“That's the next step of being a good player to becoming a great player is doing all the extra things, and things that might be a weakness, turning them into a strength,” Rhoades said. “He's really been listening, he's really been learning, he's been growing. Here we are, 13 games into the season, and I still think he's getting a lot better and has a long way to go, which is exciting.”
Penn State injury report
Forward Nick Kern Jr. missed last week’s win over Rider and remains day-to-day, with his status up in the air against Michigan State, Rhoades said Tuesday. Kern has played nearly 23 minutes per game to this point and is one of the team’s more consistent rebounders.
Meanwhile, Penn State got a big (literally) piece back with forward Favour Aire making his season debut against Rider. Aire, who transferred from Miami, scored two points in four minutes with one rebound and one steal. He returned from a broken finger that required a pin to repair, which limited his ability to remain active for some time. At 6-11, Penn State could use a healthy Aire to help shore up a struggling presence inside and on the glass.
“He is athletic, he can run the floor and can finish vertically. That helps just having that other other body. If you think of some of the games where we had some foul trouble inside, that could have really helped us,” Rhoades said. “The biggest thing with Fave now is, he's still a young player. He needs time, he needs reps. We're going to throw him in the fire and see what he does.”
Sharpshooting guard Jameel Brown returned against Rider as well after missing five games with a boot on his foot. He played just three minutes as the team wanted to be careful with him, though Rhoades said Brown is nearing 100 percent health.
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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.
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